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6 Min
23/01/2026
Whenever there is something “shahi” to eat, you often associate it with Mughlai kitchens. A lot of North Indian cuisine is believed to have come from the Mughals. But India had many rulers apart from the Mughals who equally contributed to food. Are you not sure? This article looks at what and how the Mughals influenced North Indian cuisines, and to what extent it was true or just some fiction that caught the attention and helped in marketing. Dive deeper to know more.
North Indian cuisine is famous for creamy curries, kormas, biryanis, kebabs, and desserts dipped with ghee and nuts. These dishes are called ‘Mughlai’, and are associated with their introduction by the Mughals to India. While the Mughal kitchens certainly influenced a lot of food culture in India, from Persian refinements to lavish banquets and luxurious dishes, many of these dishes already existed in India way before the Mughals, and they were upgraded with the help of royal Mughal cooking techniques. Additionally, India was also ruled by a lot of emperors, countries other than the Mughals, who also contributed to the cooking technique. So, solely giving credit for any dish that has creaminess, ghee, and richness does not make it Mughlai.
Wheat breads, lentil stews, slow cooking, and sweets with milk already had their place in Indian cuisine. When the Mughals entered India, they took this as a base and blended it with Persian and Central Asian cooking and created something new out of it, called Mughali these days. This article will help you understand what the Mughals brought to India, and what became myths without any basis.
One of the most authentic Mughal cooking techniques is the dum phukt style, which involves slow cooking in sealed pots that allow flavours to mix for hours. This technique came from Persia and became a hallmark of Mughal feasts. Dishes like dum biryani, nihari, and korma still use this slow, steam-sealed cooking, which gives tender meats with deeply infused spices. The Mughal kitchens preferred a rich taste of spices rather than the fiery heat that makes your nose runny. The Mughal kitchen was not only about spices but a balance of saffron, mace, nutmeg, and rose water.
Biryani existed in India even before the Mughals entered, but they certainly helped the dish evolve. There are a lot of instances where layered rice and meat dishes cooked together are mentioned, especially in South India. The Mughal chefs refined biryani with Persian techniques by adding saffron to the rice, sealed cooking and dry fruits. However, it certainly was not born in the Mughal kitchens, but it evolved over centuries and absorbed flavours along the way.
Persian culture deeply influenced Mughal courts, and this is reflected in the food:
Dry fruits and nuts like almonds, pistachios, and raisins became common garnishes. Fragrant water like rose, kewra, and saffron made the cuisine more luxurious. Elaborate presentations like silver leaf on sweets, orante platters and multi-course spreads became a norm through Mughal eating. These stylings set Mughal feasts apart from simpler native meals.
A lot of people think of Mughal food as only rich gravies and roasted meats, but the emperors enjoyed lighter dishes too. Salads with herbs, seasonal fruits, cold drinks like sharbat, and subtly spiced vegetable dishes featured in their diets. Even khichdi, which is today’s comfort food, had a place at the Mughal table, especially in Akbar’s court, who ate vegetarian food for three days a week. It was not food for the sick but a royal dish cooked with saffron and dry fruits. but cooked with saffron and dry fruits for grandeur. Shah Jahan, in a letter to his son, asked for a cook who had cooked khichdi for him to be sent when he was imprisoned. This proves how vegetarianism was also popular in the Mughal kitchens.
Milk-based sweets like rabri and kheer existed long before the Mughals. However, Persian chefs in the royal kitchens lifted them by adding flavours like rose, cardamom, and saffron. Dishes like sheer khurma (vermicelli pudding with dates and nuts) and shahi tukda (fried bread in saffron milk) became staples of Mughal feasts and later entered festive Indian menus.
Paneer, the fresh cheese that defines so many North Indian dishes today, is believed to have been invented by the Mughals. But it wasn’t a Mughal invention. Indian kitchens were curdling milk with acidic agents long before the Mughals entered India. However, the Mughals popularised paneer-rich royal dishes like shahi paneer and paneer korma, showing how a simple ingredient too can become a part of the royal kitchen, which led to its association with the Mughals.
This article proves how the Mughals did not force their cuisine on the Indians, but how it was a fusion of what they brought plus what was already popular in India. Persian and Central Asian influences met centuries of Indian techniques, resulting in the rich and balanced cuisine we love today. Next time you eat biryani or korma, remember it is party Mughlai and party Indian!